| LIVE UPDATES Tuesday, May 20 - TRACK CLOSED |
NOTES: Updates are listed with most recent post at the top. If you have any specific questions that I can
answer regarding activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, please e-mail them to me HERE and I'll do
my best to post a response below.
Tuesday, May 20 PHOTOS (track closed) - None
UPDATES:
2:30 pm
Took a walk through the garage area. Most teams are working today, but it's still quiet. Even though the cars
aren't back on track until Friday's Carb Day practice, there's still a lot of rebuilding and tweaking to do. Teams
also know they'll lose a day tomorrow when thousands of people descend on Gasoline Alley for Community Day.
Most teams will be around, but won't be able to get much work done as many, many families take advantage of
the access to one of the most restricted areas at the track.
Sarah Fisher today spoke at a Rotary Club meeting, and raised $1,200 by passing her helmet around.
Went to say "hi" to friend Bob Dapper, who owns long-time racing sponsor Royal Spa (sponsor of Sarah Fisher
this year), and didn't realize that he was administrating the Championship Driver's Association Golf Tournament,
held annually at the Brickyard Crossing Resort. He picked me up in his Royal Spa golf cart and we toured the
grounds a bit. Ryan Briscoe was one of the drivers participating, but I didn't see him. Jason Priestly and Jim
Freudenberg, owners of Rubicon Racing which didn't make the race with driver Max Papis, were participating, as
well as TJ Patrick, Danica's dad, and her husband Paul. Not too great of a day for golf - it's gotten pretty cold and
overcast (but at least no rain).
Royal Spa sponsors the inside turn 4 Miller Lite Party Deck, and the area has a 26-foot spa for the fan's
enjoyment, and they also sponsor four Firestone Indy Lights cars in this week's race - a major supporter of
racing!
Speaking of Royal Spa, they have just been signed as a sponsor of MotorsportsLife.com and our parent website,
GoRoadTripping.com. Look for their promotion to be available soon.
The Speedway just released Race Day Pit Assignments: Starting with pit exit (nearest turn 1) and working down
pit lane toward pit entrance (nearest turn 4): Dixon, Wheldon, Briscoe, Castroneves, Meira, Scheckter, M.
Andretti, Mutoh, Patrick, (Gasoline Alley break), Kanaan, Carpenter, Bell, Wilson, Rahal, Hunter-Reay, Rice,
(Start/Finish line and Pacecars), Lloyd, Manning, Simmons, Junqueira, Moraes, Foyt, Hamilton, Fisher, (no pit),
Power, Servia, Viso, Duno, J. Andretti, Roth, Bernoldi, Camara, Lazier
Tomorrow at the Track:
American Family Insurance 500 Festival Community Day (9am - 6pm, $7 per person);
USAC National Sprint Car Series - Anderson Speedway
12:15 pm
Just had the extreme privilege to have lunch with none other than world-famous journalist and publisher Chris
Economacki. It was not planned, so I did not want to grill him on questions as he tried to enjoy a bite to eat, but I
did get a few tidbits from him.
On who his favorite is for this year's Indy 500: "I'd love to see Danica win, as that would change the sport. But
unfortunately, drivers don't win this race - cars do. So the winner will come from one of the top-three teams:
Penske, Ganassi or Andretti Green."
On whether he's attending all of the pre-race events this week: "Oh yeah, all of them. I'm a party guy!"
On whether he's coming to the Brickyard 400 NASCAR race here at IMS: "Well, I'm not sure how to say this, but
I'm a bit tired of NASCAR. So no."
On whether he's attending the inaugural MotoGP motorcycle race in September here at IMS: "No. I'm not a
two-wheel guy. Only four wheels for me."
On his favorite type of racing: "It would have to be right here. IndyCars are my favorite."
On whether the Internet has affected subscriptions to National Speed Sport News: "Well, I'm "trying" to retire, and
my daughter is running the paper, so I really don't know much about that."
On whether he still lives in New Jersey: "Yes. I moved to North Carolina for a bit, but I hated it and so I moved
back to Jersey. It was so slow down there!"
On how many races he attends a year: "Well, I'm a widower, so I can pretty much go wherever I want, when I
want. I'm 87 years old, but I still get to quite a few each year - all of the big ones, at least."
answer regarding activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, please e-mail them to me HERE and I'll do
my best to post a response below.
Tuesday, May 20 PHOTOS (track closed) - None
UPDATES:
2:30 pm
Took a walk through the garage area. Most teams are working today, but it's still quiet. Even though the cars
aren't back on track until Friday's Carb Day practice, there's still a lot of rebuilding and tweaking to do. Teams
also know they'll lose a day tomorrow when thousands of people descend on Gasoline Alley for Community Day.
Most teams will be around, but won't be able to get much work done as many, many families take advantage of
the access to one of the most restricted areas at the track.
Sarah Fisher today spoke at a Rotary Club meeting, and raised $1,200 by passing her helmet around.
Went to say "hi" to friend Bob Dapper, who owns long-time racing sponsor Royal Spa (sponsor of Sarah Fisher
this year), and didn't realize that he was administrating the Championship Driver's Association Golf Tournament,
held annually at the Brickyard Crossing Resort. He picked me up in his Royal Spa golf cart and we toured the
grounds a bit. Ryan Briscoe was one of the drivers participating, but I didn't see him. Jason Priestly and Jim
Freudenberg, owners of Rubicon Racing which didn't make the race with driver Max Papis, were participating, as
well as TJ Patrick, Danica's dad, and her husband Paul. Not too great of a day for golf - it's gotten pretty cold and
overcast (but at least no rain).
Royal Spa sponsors the inside turn 4 Miller Lite Party Deck, and the area has a 26-foot spa for the fan's
enjoyment, and they also sponsor four Firestone Indy Lights cars in this week's race - a major supporter of
racing!
Speaking of Royal Spa, they have just been signed as a sponsor of MotorsportsLife.com and our parent website,
GoRoadTripping.com. Look for their promotion to be available soon.
The Speedway just released Race Day Pit Assignments: Starting with pit exit (nearest turn 1) and working down
pit lane toward pit entrance (nearest turn 4): Dixon, Wheldon, Briscoe, Castroneves, Meira, Scheckter, M.
Andretti, Mutoh, Patrick, (Gasoline Alley break), Kanaan, Carpenter, Bell, Wilson, Rahal, Hunter-Reay, Rice,
(Start/Finish line and Pacecars), Lloyd, Manning, Simmons, Junqueira, Moraes, Foyt, Hamilton, Fisher, (no pit),
Power, Servia, Viso, Duno, J. Andretti, Roth, Bernoldi, Camara, Lazier
Tomorrow at the Track:
American Family Insurance 500 Festival Community Day (9am - 6pm, $7 per person);
USAC National Sprint Car Series - Anderson Speedway
12:15 pm
Just had the extreme privilege to have lunch with none other than world-famous journalist and publisher Chris
Economacki. It was not planned, so I did not want to grill him on questions as he tried to enjoy a bite to eat, but I
did get a few tidbits from him.
On who his favorite is for this year's Indy 500: "I'd love to see Danica win, as that would change the sport. But
unfortunately, drivers don't win this race - cars do. So the winner will come from one of the top-three teams:
Penske, Ganassi or Andretti Green."
On whether he's attending all of the pre-race events this week: "Oh yeah, all of them. I'm a party guy!"
On whether he's coming to the Brickyard 400 NASCAR race here at IMS: "Well, I'm not sure how to say this, but
I'm a bit tired of NASCAR. So no."
On whether he's attending the inaugural MotoGP motorcycle race in September here at IMS: "No. I'm not a
two-wheel guy. Only four wheels for me."
On his favorite type of racing: "It would have to be right here. IndyCars are my favorite."
On whether the Internet has affected subscriptions to National Speed Sport News: "Well, I'm "trying" to retire, and
my daughter is running the paper, so I really don't know much about that."
On whether he still lives in New Jersey: "Yes. I moved to North Carolina for a bit, but I hated it and so I moved
back to Jersey. It was so slow down there!"
On how many races he attends a year: "Well, I'm a widower, so I can pretty much go wherever I want, when I
want. I'm 87 years old, but I still get to quite a few each year - all of the big ones, at least."
